Down-link OFDRMA communications

Wireless Networks - Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing with random multiple access (OFDRMA) is discussed for down-link communications, whereby a single base-station transmits information...     

Biology of chronic radiation effect on tissues and wound healing

Radiation therapy exerts both acute and chronic effects on normal tissue included within treatment fields. The physics of radiation therapy and treatment techniques to minimize deleterious effects of radiation are presented. Management of radiation-damaged skin is discussed. Radiation effect on tissue, wound healing, and tumorigenesis also are reviewed.     

Hearing loss after spinal anesthesia. An audiological controlled trial

Audiological tests were conducted on 34 patients before and after undergoing an operation in spinal anaesthesia. One of these patients developed a considerable unilateral hearing loss in the low-frequency range, which persisted until an epidural blood-patch was given. Unexpectedly, we also found a general small but significant threshold shift at 500 Hz, which has never before been described in the literature. The biological mechanism is discussed, and the results suggest that the explanation of the hearing loss could be a condition similar to endolymphatic hydrops, resulting from perilymphatic hypotension due to loss of liquor during and after the spinal anaesthesia.     

3D Micro-PIXE at atmospheric pressure: A new tool for the investigation of art and archaeological objects

The paper describes a novel experiment characterized by the development of a confocal geometry in an external Micro-PIXE set-up. The position of X-ray optics in front of the X-ray detector and its proper alignment with respect to the proton micro-beam focus provided the possibility of carrying out 3D Micro-PIXE analysis. As a first application, depth intensity profiles of the major elements that compose the patina layer of a quaternary bronze alloy were measured. A simulation approach of the 3D Micro-PIXE data deduced elemental concentration profiles in rather good agreement with corresponding results obtained by electron probe micro-analysis from a cross-sectioned patina sample. With its non-destructive and depth-resolving properties, as well as its feasibility in atmospheric pressure, 3D Micro-PIXE seems especially suited for investigations in the field of cultural heritage.     

Moral und Abhängigkeit

Definition of the problem:

Being satisfied with one’s work depends on professional autonomy, which is attributed to the medical profession to a high degree, combined with specialized knowledge and moral authority for vital questions. That is why physicians enjoy a high reputation. At the beginning of a person's medical career, moral competence is developed nearly completely, but specialized knowledge must be learned. Hospitals, in which further medical education regularly takes place, are still traditionally hierarchically organized today. Unfortunately, feudalistic or military structures hinder autonomous moral decisions and cause structural irresponsibility.

Arguments:

Obstructions and pressure by superiors, financial restrictions, arrogance and trying to make one's mark are shown in typical conflict situations. Stress, discontent, moral conflicts and illness, even including burn out are possible. Commitment and creativity by employees are prevented and mistakes cannot be constructively managed. Thus, patients may suffer unreasonably or be hurt.

Conclusion:

There is a risk to subordinate moral principles under other interests, not only with subordinates but also with superiors. Ways to create a culture that promotes autonomy among physicians and between different professions are discussed. Therefore it is necessary to institutionalize communication based on a reciprocal high regard in a team with people treated as equal partners, who are then able to discuss moral questions in a discourse.     

From linear temporal logic and limit-deterministic Büchi automata to deterministic parity automata

Controller synthesis for general linear temporal logic (LTL) objectives is a challenging task. The standard approach involves translating the LTL objective into a deterministic parity automaton (DPA) by means of the Safra-Piterman construction. One of the challenges is the size of the DPA, which often grows very fast in practice, and can reach double exponential size in the length of the LTL formula. In this paper, we describe a single exponential translation from limit-deterministic Büchi automata (LDBA) to DPA and show that it can be concatenated with a recent efficient translations from LTL to LDBA to yield a double exponential, ‘Safraless’ LTL-to-DPA construction. We also report on an implementation and a comparison with other LTL-to-DPA translations on several sets of formulas from the literature.

     

Time-resolved GISAXS and cryo-microscopy characterization of block copolymer membrane formation

Time-resolved grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) and cryo-microscopy were used for the first time to understand the pore evolution by copolymer assembly, leading to the formation of isoporous membranes with exceptional porosity and regularity. The formation of copolymer micelle strings in solution (in DMF/DOX/THF and DMF/DOX) was confirmed by cryo field emission scanning electron microscopy (cryo-FESEM) with a distance of 72 nm between centers of micelles placed in different strings. SAXS measurement of block copolymer solutions in DMF/DOX indicated hexagonal assembly with micelle-to-micelle distance of 84–87 nm for 14–20 wt% copolymer solutions. GISAXS in-plane peaks were detected, revealing order close to hexagonal. The d-spacing corresponding to the first peak in this case was 100–130 nm (lattice constant 115–150 nm) for 17 wt% copolymer solutions evaporating up to 100 s. Time-resolved cryo-FESEM showed the formation of incipient pores on the film surface after 4 s copolymer solution casting with distances between void centers of 125 nm.     

Detecting and tracking mesoscale precipitating objects using machine learning algorithms

Accurate identification of precipitating clouds is a challenging task. In the present work, Support Vector Machines (SVMs), Decision Trees (DT), and Random Forests (RD) algorithms were applied to extract and track mesoscale convective precipitating clouds from a series of 22 Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-13 meteorological image sub-scenes over the continental territory of Colombia. This study’s aims are twofold: (i) to establish whether the use of five meteorological spectral channels, rather than a single infrared (IR) channel, improves rainfall objects detection and (ii) to evaluate the potential of machine learning algorithms to locate precipitation clouds. Results show that while the SVM algorithm provides more accurate classification of rainfall cloud objects than the traditional IR brightness temperature threshold method, such improvement is not statistically significant. Accuracy assessment was performed using STEP (shape (S), theme (T), edge (E), and position (P)) object-based similarity matrix method, taking as reference precipitation satellite images from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission. Best thematic and geometric accuracies were obtained applying the SVM algorithm.